Happy Sixteen Month Birthday, Siena! You had a well child check-up this past week, and here are your stats:

length – 31 inches
weight – 20 pounds

I’m including some pictures of you at your appointment. (Click here to see pictures from earlier doctor visits.) For my own memory, here’s a snapshot of your development. I’ll use the areas of development we documented when I taught special education preschool.

Personality

Siena is a social little girl who greets most adults she sees, and particularly loves dogs, babies, and children.  She loves to dance (sometimes even while nursing) and is observant and persistent.  She likes to hold two matching items in each hand, and walks around the house trading items to find better matches. She might start with two wooden puzzle pieces, then trade one for a plastic dog to match the dog puzzle piece. Later she may set down the puzzle piece and pick up a second plastic dog.

Gross Motor Skills

Siena can jump in place, spin (from a standing or sitting position), walk forwards and backwards independently. She climbs up stairs using her hands and knees, and backs down stairs with guidance. When an adult holds one hand, she can walk up and down stairs, bringing her feet together on each step.  She consistently squats down and stands up without losing her balance.

Fine Motor Skills

Siena has a proficient pincer grasp, points spontaneously, scribbles with an age appropriate grasp, and makes several gestures in sign language that require finger dexterity. She seems to prefer her right hand. She often attempts to hold two things in one hand but does not yet squirrel small items in her fist.

Adaptive Skills – Self  Help

Siena can take off her socks and can unfasten the Velcro closures on her shoes. She tries to put clips in her hair and hats on her head. She can remove hair clips, headbands, and hats.  She helps with dressing and undressing by pushing her arms through sleeves, stepping her legs in and out of pants while steadying herself against a parent, holding out one foot at a time for socks and shoes, and uses her arms to push a shirt over her head when a parent is pulling it over her head. She holds still for several seconds to get her hair styled and watches quietly as her nails get trimmed. Siena sits on a pottty seat on the regular sized toilet at each diaper change, and claps for herself when she urinates in the toilet about once per day.  She moves a toothbrush back and forth in her mouth, and is working on tolerating a parent brushing her teeth for her. When prompted, she will imitate  ”cleaning up” by putting her toys in a designated container. She likes to wipe her high chair tray with a baby wipe, and is growing increasingly tolerant of her hands and face getting wiped.  Siena tends to make a screeching or  ”eh-eh-eh”  noise  is frustrated, and is working on signing or saying “Please” in  order to request help appropriately. Siena feeds herself with her fingers and practices with spoons and forks. She drinks from an open cup, held by an adult, with some spilling. She has some exposure to drinking from a straw and from sippy cups, but resists holding her own cup. She does hold a CamelBak brand waterbottle with an internal straw, which doesn’t require tipping the waterbottle in order to drink. She currently drops her cup and fingerfood on the floor to indicate she is done eating, and is working to replace this behavior by asking for “down.”  She currently responds to a prompt when asked if she wants “more” or “down” but is working on spontaneously making her request to get down before throwing things.

Adaptive Skills – Following a Routine

Siena used to protest strongly when getting into her carseat, but now accepts the straps and moves a toy from one hand to the other to assist with getting into the straps. She seems to anticipate each element of family routines such as waving goodbye when Daddy leaves for work, being lifted up to touch lights on her way to bed, or reading books and brushing her teeth while sitting on the potty.  She gets frustrated at times if we try to skip a step but does not demonstrate rigid adherence to a routine.

Social Skills

Siena has been described as “the most personable baby I’ve ever met”  by a woman she sits near most weekends at Mass, as “so social” by strangers, and as “the family extrovert” by family members.  She takes toys from playmates and also offers toys.  She enjoys playing “chase” with other toddlers and children.   Siena brings books to her parents to read to her and plays simple turn-taking games such as fetch, peek-a-boo, and “gimme five.”  She giggles when she offers food to a parent, kisses her stuffed animals, or has her stuffed animals kiss each other (or her shoes, or the wall…)

Cognitive

Siena activates simple musical toys, enjoys put-and-take toys,  removes pieces from wooden non-interlocking puzzles and attempts to put them in but gets frustrated easily. Much of her independent play consists of moving toys from one surface to another, rocking them on the rocking chair or rocking horse, placing them in containers and scooting containers around. She does some spontaneous sorting toys by category, such as putting all the plastic fish toys in one group, the wooden puzzle pieces in another group, and the stacking cups in another. She loves board books, especially turning the pages (forward and backwards) and pointing to or labeling images she recognizes.  She does not yet identify her body parts, but when asked, “Where’s your nose?” will point to the nose of the person who asked the question.

Communication

Siena has an expressive vocabulary of about 35 words, signs 5 words using baby sign language, and demonstrates a growing grasp of receptive language. She communicates her wants and needs through a combination of single word utterances (not yet putting two words together), vocalizations, gestures, and signs. She uses language both to make requests and to label items around her.  She tries to imitate new words.

We love you so much Siena! All 31 inches, 20 pounds, and sixteen months of you! You’ve grown and learned so many things right before our eyes. I wish I could keep you from growing up and hold onto this precious toddler stage a bit longer, but then I suppose we’d miss out on the rest of the things you’re aching to learn and discover each day.  Go ahead then…keep growing…just not too quickly, ok?